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On the morning of May 19, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation led by Nippon Foundation Chairman Sasakawa Yohei. In remarks, President Tsai said that under Chairman Sasakawa’s leadership, the Nippon Foundation has sponsored educational and social welfare activities to promote global peace and development, and has long supported Taiwan’s international participation and helped Taiwan engage with the world. The president expressed hope that Chairman Sasakawa will continue to assist the new government, support Taiwan’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and help Taiwan and Japan further deepen our partnership.
A translation of President Tsai’s remarks follows:
Chairman Sasakawa, I would like to welcome you and your delegation to attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Lai Ching-te and Vice President-elect Bi-khim Hsiao. I am also delighted to meet with you and President Sunami Atsushi of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation before my term of office ends. I extend sincere gratitude to both of you for the concern and support you have shown for Taiwan.
Under Chairman Sasakawa’s leadership, the Nippon Foundation has sponsored educational and social welfare activities to promote global peace and development, and has long supported Taiwan’s international participation and helped Taiwan engage with the world.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Japanese government for supporting Taiwan. Over the past few years, Taiwan and Japan have enhanced our economic, industrial, and cultural exchanges through various agreements and activities, and worked together to address challenges such as the pandemic. In another example, after an earthquake struck Taiwan last month, fund-raising campaigns launched by both the public and private sectors in Japan have not only aided post-disaster reconstruction efforts, but have also exemplified the friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
Taiwan and Japan are also staunch partners in maintaining regional peace and safeguarding freedom and democracy. We are very grateful to the Japanese government for stating the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait at the US-Japan summit and at numerous other international venues. To counter authoritarian expansionism in the region, we also hope to deepen cooperation in all areas with Japan and other democratic partners.
I would also like to ask Chairman Sasakawa to continue to assist the new government, support Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP, and help Taiwan and Japan further deepen our partnership. In closing, I would like to once again welcome all of our distinguished guests. Through this visit, I look forward to fostering even more productive exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.
Chairman Sasakawa then delivered remarks, thanking President Tsai for making time to meet with him and his delegation on the last day of her presidency. That Taiwan and its democracy are recognized around the world, he said, is thanks to the hard work of President Tsai, and that through her belief in and dedication to democracy, Taiwan has influenced the world, including the people and government of Japan. Noting that nowadays Japanese politicians are more supportive of Taiwan’s international participation than before, Chairman Sasakawa said that exchanges and mutual understanding between Japan and Taiwan, as well as between our civil societies, have deepened.
Chairman Sasakawa stated that the Nippon Foundation provides humanitarian aid around the world and conducts in-depth research on addressing future challenges on a global scale as well as in collaboration with Japanese and Taiwanese think tanks. Going forward, he added, the foundation will continue to facilitate greater exchanges between Japan and Taiwan and to build a closer friendship with Taiwan, with which it shares common values.
Chairman Sasakawa said that the Nippon Foundation will work with the new government and continue to promote friendship between the people of Japan and Taiwan through research into policy that deepens mutual understanding.
Remarking on how beautiful Japan is in Autumn, Chairman Sasakawa said that he hopes President Tsai has the opportunity to travel to Japan, and that she would be warmly welcomed by the Japanese people.
